Nonstop flight route between Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Lukla, Nepal:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from MSL to LUA:
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- About this route
- MSL Airport Information
- LUA Airport Information
- Facts about MSL
- Facts about LUA
- Map of Nearest Airports to MSL
- List of Nearest Airports to MSL
- Map of Furthest Airports from MSL
- List of Furthest Airports from MSL
- Map of Nearest Airports to LUA
- List of Nearest Airports to LUA
- Map of Furthest Airports from LUA
- List of Furthest Airports from LUA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL), Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States and Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA), Lukla, Nepal would travel a Great Circle distance of 8,107 miles (or 13,047 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport and Tenzing-Hillary Airport, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.
Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Northwest Alabama Regional Airport and Tenzing-Hillary Airport. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | MSL / KMSL |
Airport Name: | Northwest Alabama Regional Airport |
Location: | Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°44'43"N by 87°36'37"W |
Area Served: | Muscle Shoals, Alabama |
Operator/Owner: | Colbert & Lauderdale Counties |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 551 feet (168 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from MSL |
More Information: | MSL Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LUA / VNLK |
Airport Names: |
|
Location: | Lukla, Nepal |
GPS Coordinates: | 27°41'14"N by 86°43'54"E |
Area Served: | Lukla, Nepal |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 9383 feet (2,860 meters) |
# of Runways: | 1 |
View all routes: | Routes from LUA |
More Information: | LUA Maps & Info |
Facts about Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL):
- The furthest airport from Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,143 miles (17,932 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport covers an area of 640 acres at an elevation of 551 feet above mean sea level.
- Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) has 2 runways.
- The closest airport to Northwest Alabama Regional Airport (MSL) is Pryor Field Regional Airport (DCU), which is located 38 miles (62 kilometers) E of MSL.
- Currently, Muscle Shoals is served by Silver Airways with two daily flights to Atlanta.
- The airport was opened in February 1940, however in 1942 it was taken over by the United States Army Air Forces as a World War II pilot training military airfield.
- Pilot training at the airfield apparently ended on May 30, 1944, with the drawdown of AAFTC's pilot training program.
- Because of Northwest Alabama Regional Airport's relatively low elevation of 551 feet, planes can take off or land at Northwest Alabama Regional Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
Facts about Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA):
- Lukla flights or flights to Tenzing-Hillary airport start in the early morning to mid day.
- The closest airport to Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Phaplu Airport (PPL), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) SW of LUA.
- In addition to being known as "Tenzing-Hillary Airport", another name for LUA is "तेन्जिङ हिलारी विमानस्थल".
- The airport's paved asphalt runway is only accessible to helicopters and small, fixed-wing, short-takeoff-and-landing aircraft such as the De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, Dornier Do 228, and Pilatus PC-6 Turbo Porter.
- Because of Tenzing-Hillary Airport's high elevation of 9,383 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at LUA. Combined with a high temperature, this could make LUA a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
- The furthest airport from Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) is Mataveri International Airport (IPC), which is located 11,446 miles (18,421 kilometers) away in Easter Island, Chile.
- Tenzing-Hillary Airport (LUA) currently has only 1 runway.